Dave in Green

We're at floor level with an extraordinarily clear closeup view.

Zips can't play tight D when refs calling minor contact fouls.

A lot like the Buffalo game scoring-wise. Zips stayed out of foul trouble in 1st half and can start dialing up D in 2nd. Crowd noisy in such a small place, but plenty of empty seats up high. Less than 2k attendance.

Everything here is nice and shiny, but I've been in bigger HS gyms. Sitting next to Deji's family. Really nice people.

I'm not sure how home game assignment works after the first round. For example, what if all the teams that bought home games lost in the first round and the only teams left were those that didn't want to buy home games?

The only thing we know about CIT matchups is that they say they try to keep teams in the same geographical region to keep travel costs down. So they'd probably try to match the Zips against a team within easy driving distance. I suspect they also consider who's already played against each other, so Wright State would probably be more likely for the Zips than OU or Cleveland State.

Valpo is a pretty hot basketball school, and they only drew 1,663. Sam Houston State drew only 474, Canisius 937, East Carolina 2,171, and East Tennessee State topped the list with 3,045. I'm not sure what the magic formula is for getting fans interested in the lesser tournaments. The spread from EMU's 373 to ETSU's 3,045 is pretty steep.

Thought we should have a separate thread to keep up with other teams advancing in the CIT to see who the Zips might face beyond round 1. I'll update results here in the first post as games are played: Holy Cross beat Brown 68-65 EMU beat Norfolk State 59-54 Wright State beat East Carolina 73-59 East Tennessee beat Chattanooga 79-66 VMI beat Canisius 111-100 Sam Houston beat Alabama State 71-49 Columbia beat Valparaiso 58-56 San Diego beat Portland State 87-65 EDIT: Rather than duplicating efforts, CIT results and upcoming matchups can easily be followed through this link to the CIT website. We can discuss the results and upcoming games in this thread.

The two arenas are less than a mile apart, so no big changes in travel plans.

Ha! I'm going to stop trusting Wikipedia. So IPFW apparently only holds some of their indoor sporting events at the big arena. If I'd checked the big arena's schedule, I'd have seen that there's a hockey game scheduled there tomorrow night. Instead, we get to see what a gym less than half the size of the JAR is like. Welcome to the big time. Thanks for saving us from showing up at a hockey game.

Had a chance to attend practice this morning for the first time in awhile. I saw a lot of enthusiasm and intensity from the players. They practiced hard and weren't holding anything back. No one was yelled at for dogging it. The coaching staff is confident that the players have a good attitude going into tomorrow night's game. That's no guarantee they'll have a great game. But I saw no signs that anyone was taking preparation for this game lightly. There were lots of individual player highlights during scrimmage on both offense and defense. One I especially liked seeing was Reggie driving the lane for a major slam instead of pulling up and shooting a jumper. We've seen this a little in recent games, and it really does appear that Reggie is developing into a more confident, complete player. I look for him to do well in the tournament and play an even bigger role in his junior season. The team bus was parked outside the JAR and was ready to leave for Fort Wayne as soon as the players finished showering.

I have to say how impressed I am with how the level of discussion about Zips basketball has gone up compared with past seasons. For many years it seemed like some just wanted to vent their frustration and spew negativity when things didn't go well. Now most are expressing a more balanced view, not just expressing their frustrations about everything that's gone wrong but also their appreciation for what's gone right. I think that's a really healthy attitude for a fan base to have. Makes me proud to be a Zips fan.

I lied. One last nostalgia post. For anyone who's genuinely interested in the history of basketball, please read every word in the Wikipedia entry on George Mikan. My dad always told me that Mikan redefined the sport, and this really tells his story. Best line to me:

OK, last nostalgia post from a sentimental old basketball fan. When the 1953 NBA All Star Game was held at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, the MVP was George Mikan. That's one of the first names I ever recall my dad talking to me about. Bob Cousy, Dolph Schayes and Bill Sharman are three other names that jump out at me from the past, as do Ed Macauley, Don Barksdale, Slater Martin and so many other stars from the early years of the NBA when I was so young and just beginning to be fascinated by the concept of throwing a ball through a hoop. The ghosts in that building will bring chills to any old-timers who make the trip.

Uh oh, Wikipedia contradicts Wikipedia on the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum hosting the 1955 NBA Finals:

Lots of basketball history, plenty of seats and recently upgraded amenities to be experienced by those of us who attend this game. From the IPFW Wikipedia page: From the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Wikipedia page:

Not sure why Big Dog played only 4 minutes in the 2nd half after 15 in the 1st half. But Deji, who also played 15 minutes in the first half, was tied with Q and Melo for most 2nd half PT at 14 minutes behind Tree's 17. Along with his 5 minutes in OT, Deji played a total of 34 minutes, trailing only Tree's 42 and Q's 36. Deji was effective throughout the game and was rewarded with his longest PT of the season.

@zippy5, I can't disagree with a single word you just said. The players all have different perspectives just as we do. Some are surely more excited than others, and all of them, like all of us, would be more excited to be in the Big Dance. It's unrealistic to expect all the players to have exactly the same level of motivation, but that's true all the time and not just in this tournament. I see the same potential negatives that everyone else sees. I'm just trying to stay focused on whatever positives the Zips can get out of this experience that can carry into next season. I agree with @Big Zip that the team must go into this tournament with the mindset that they're going to win it all, and then do whatever it takes. But even if they lose along the way and learn something that will make them a better team next season, I'll still consider it a net plus. There will be 2 redshirt freshmen sitting on the bench and 2 freshmen and 4 sophomores potentially playing -- a total of 8 underclassmen -- who still have a lot to learn about playing together and winning as a team.

Sorry my intent wasn't more clear. I had no intent to question your position on tournament participation, which you didn't even state in your first post. Please read my post again with the understanding that I was only saying that discussing a team's motivation level begs the question of whether they should even bother to enter the tournament. I simply restated my position on that issue. Misunderstood intent is common on forums. You and I have never had a problem discussing any misunderstandings we might have had. Same with skip-zip and other reasonable forum members with differing opinions. I don't take offense when someone questions my position and there's no reason for anyone to take offense when I question their position. We can question each other and disagree on things without being disagreeable, and through civil discussion we often find that we agree on more than we disagree.

IPFW ranks in the top 50 nationally in a number of team statistics, mostly offensive -- field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, points per possession, efficiency, assists, defensive rebounding percentage, etc. Their only top 100 win is over #37 North Dakota State, who they also lost to twice. Their coach said after losing to NDSU 60-57 in the Summit League tournament championship game that the Bison defense was really tough. So the Zips need to at least match that level of D. Their key player is veteran PG Pierre Bland, a 6-2 senior who runs their offense and averages a team-leading 33 minutes per game. He's the team's 3rd leading scorer, averaging just under 10 points per game (46% on 3-pointers) along with 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.9 turnovers. Tight D on Bland could be one of the most important factors in the game. This is an opportunity for Deji and Melo to make major contributions.

@zippy5, I had read the KD quote. We all know there's purpose in his public statements. Of course a team that's never been to a tournament and is coming off its best season ever is going to be highly motivated. That goes without saying. Again, that begs the question of whether any team that's ever made the NCAA tournament should ever bother entering a lesser tournament because their hearts can never truly be in it. The answer is yes they should, and most do. Every season many teams that have been to the NCAA tournament in the past play well in the NIT, CBI and CIT. Only a few elect not to, as Buffalo did this year. There's value to be had for all the players coming back next season, which for the Zips means everyone but Q, and especially for the underclassmen. The NCAA has rules about how much time teams can practice to keep some teams from getting an advantage in experience. Participation in a post-season tournament is one of the few legal ways teams can gain extra experience. I choose to put a lot of weight on what Shaka Smart said about the value to his team. The Zips have as many freshmen and sophomores and fewer graduating seniors than the VCU team that went from winning the CBI to their NCAA Final Four run. That alone means more to me than all the negative comments added together.

Skip, I readily admit I lack the expertise to analyze the Zips from the cheap seats and definitively conclude what we've seen on the court this season equates to a lack of desire to play in a lesser tournament. I just have to go with my gut feel that there are some intense competitors on this Zips team who want to prove they're better than the team that lost in OT to WMU. Also, you do realize that there are teams in these lesser tournaments who've actually made runs in the NCAA tournament. From what you're saying it sounds like no team that's ever made the NCAA tournament should ever bother entering a lesser tournament because their hearts can never truly be in it. Surely you can't be saying this rule only applies to the Zips.

The CIT has posted all 32 teams and first round matchups here. Given that the CIT bases matchups on close proximity to minimize travel, it's possible if the Zips beat IPFW that they could meet the OU-Cleveland State winner in the second round.

Skip, none of the players from the 2010 Green Bay loss are still on the roster. How many centuries does the Northeast Ohio Curse dictate must pass before the Zips have players who take a lesser tournament game more seriously than some believe that group of players did in 2010? Every season a different team steps up and wins these lesser tournaments. Are you saying the Zips should give up forever because they failed once?

Everyone does understand that this is only a 1-game tournament if you lose in the first round, right? If IPFW doesn't float your boat, there are 30 other teams in the CIT besides IPFW and the Zips, right? One game at a time. Beat IPFW and the Zips are likely to face a tougher matchup in the second round. Win the second round and a tougher matchup awaits in the 3rd round. When we see the full list of 32 teams we'll have a better idea of what it's going to take to win this tournament. Do a Google search for CIT basketball and under Search Tools select Past Hour to see all the teams popping up. OU, Eastern Michigan and Cleveland State are among the familiar names already in. This tournament is winnable as long as the players have a better attitude than some of their fans.